Bram Spruyt

Who Supports Populism and What Attracts People to It

In this paper, we engage with the emerging literature that studies the support for populism by means of attitudes among the public at large. More specifically, our paper has two objectives. First, we extend recent research by Akkerman et al. by showing that their measure performs rather well in a context that differs from the one it was originally formulated in. Data from Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, N = 1,577) also demonstrate that the support for populism can be empirically distinguished from feelings of lack of external political efficacy. Second, this is one of the first studies that assess who supports populism and why they do so. We show that populism is embedded in deep feelings of discontent, not only with politics but also with societal life in general. Moreover, we demonstrate that populism is strongest supported by stigmatized groups who face difficulties in finding a positive social identity. In the conclusion, we discuss the implications of our findings.

Are anti-Muslim feelings more widespread than anti-foreigner feelings? Evidence from two split-sample experiments

This article tests the claim that anti-Muslim feelings are more widespread than general anti-foreigner feelings. It reports on two split sample experiments, in which a randomly selected part of the respondents evaluated statements for which the target group was identified as ‘foreigners’ and the other part evaluated the identical statements but with the target group identified as ‘Muslims’. By using open-ended questions we are able to separate those respondents who had Muslims in mind when asked about foreigners from those who did not. We find that anti-Muslim feelings are more intense than anti-foreigner feelings along a wide range of attitude dimensions. Furthermore, those respondents who had Muslims in mind while judging statements about foreigners, turned out to be at least as hostile as those who were asked explicitly about Muslims.

Religion and Negative Attitudes towards Homosexuals An Analysis of Urban Young People and Their Attitudes towards Homosexuality

Public opinion research has repeatedly shown that religious persons report more prejudice against homosexuality when compared to their non-religious counterparts. This article contributes to a better understanding of this relationship by studying attitudes of youth in two of the three largest cities of Flanders (N: 1907). The ethnic and religious heterogeneous population of these cities allows us to empirically disentangle the relevance of both religious involvement (strong versus weak) and the specific religious conviction with respect to negative attitudes towards homosexuals. This offers us a more detailed view on the exact nature of the relationship between religiosity and the latter attitudes among youth than what has been achieved so far. For both Christian and Muslim believers, we found more negative attitudes towards homosexuality, even after controlling for authoritarianism and a more traditional view on gender roles. Although boys appeared, in general, more negative towards homosexuality than girls, the gender gap amongst young Muslims was twice as large when compared to non-Muslims.

Towards a typology of occasional truancy: an operationalisation study of occasional truancy in secondary education in Flanders

Abstract The negative consequences of truancy for individuals, schools, communities and society in the short and long term are well documented. However, empirical research on truancy often takes only the frequency of the absence into account. As a consequence, truancy research has been dominated by the comparison of characteristics of truants with characteristics of non-truants. The purpose of the present study is to provide insight into the conceptual understanding of truancy by exploring different types of truant behaviour. Latent profile analysis was used to examine different types of truancy by using a nationally representative sample of 739 truants (age 14–21) in secondary education in Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium). Six key indicators were employed to identify latent classes: the duration of the absence, the parental knowledge of the absence, the location of the absence, individual vs. group absence, the time of the decision to go truant and the premeditated nature of the absence. Three classes of truant youth were identified: homestayers, traditional truants, and condoned social truants. In addition, multinomial regression revealed social differences between the three truancy classes. Our findings suggest that truant behaviour consists of interrelated forms of truancy that have specific social characteristics. In the discussion we demonstrate how studying different forms of truants can be important for understanding how truant behaviour can be identified and prevented.

Educational Tracking and Sense of Futility: A Matter of Stigma Consciousness?.

During the past decade, both qualitative and quantitative research have documented strong feelings of fatalism amongst pupils enrolled in technical and vocational tracks in secondary education. Whereas those feelings have been shown to predict decreased school involvement and school misconduct, relatively little is known about their exact origins. In this paper, we explore to what extent they should be considered a stigma consciousness caused by the demeaning impact of perceived contempt to which pupils from technical and vocational tracks are exposed. Data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study from Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, N: 1967) were used to explore the distribution and consequences of perceived contempt with regard to one’s choice of study. About 20% of the pupils enrolled in technical and vocational education reported that some people looked down on them due to their studies. Moreover, even after taking into account different ability measures and social background characteristics, a strong direct relationship remained between perceived contempt and feelings of futility. In the conclusion, we elaborate on the implications of our findings.

To Stop or Not to Stop An Empirical Assessment of the Determinants of Early Retirement Among Active and Retired Senior Teachers

While the official retirement age for most Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries is 65 years, the average employee in the majority of OECD countries retires considerably earlier. With the coming retirement of the baby boom generation, increasing life expectancy, and budget restrictions due to the financial crisis, most countries want to motivate employees to work longer. For these reasons, studying early retirement is highly relevant. In this article, we examine the determinants of early retirement among working and retired senior teachers between 45 and 65 years old in Flanders, Belgium. Although a widespread early exit culture exists among teachers and teacher shortages are expected in several countries, little attention has been given to the specific determinants of early retirement among teachers. Using multivariate linear regression analysis, we study the preferred retirement age of working teachers (n = 1,878) and the actual retirement age of retired teachers (n = 1,246). Financial factors, feelings of emotional exhaustion, and dissatisfaction with nonteaching-related workload (such as meetings and paperwork) have an important influence on the retirement decision. Results show that the majority of teachers make use of early exit schemes. This illustrates the existence of a widespread early exit culture among senior teachers in Flanders.

Talent, Effort or Social Background?

ABSTRACT Little research has been conducted into the way citizens explain educational outcomes today. This is remarkable because scholars have always claimed that education as an institution contributes to a representation of society in which success is ‘achieved’ on strictly meritocratic grounds. This paper attempts to fill this gap by examining public opinion on three explanations for educational success and failure – namely talent, effort and social background – in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium). Survey data (N = 1693) revealed that people are much more inclined to attribute educational success to effort and dedication when compared to educational failure. Contrary to the expectations derived from the literature on symbolic capital, ‘talent’ was not deemed very important by our respondents as an explanation for educational outcomes. In addition, higher educated people supported an explanation for school success or failure in terms of social background more than the less educated. The implications of our findings are discussed.

Warm, cold, competent or incompetent? An empirical assessment of public perceptions of the higher and less educated

Growing educational differentials in different domains have made some scholars wonder whether these differences have the potential to grow into an educational conflict and associated education-based group consciousness. In this article that question is contrasted with a body of literature which considers educational credentials a form of symbolic capital, that is, institutionalized social status. Theoretical insights derived from the social psychological stereotype content model are used to disentangle this apparent paradox. In the empirical section survey data from Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium; N = 1967) are used to assess the perceptions held by the public at large about the higher and less educated. A within-subject design whereby respondents rated the less and higher educated in terms of traits related to warmth and competence shows that indications of legitimate status differences but also intergroup conflict can be found depending on the dimension on which higher and less educated people are compared. In addition, the study demonstrates that higher and less educated groups use a different stereotype dimension to differentiate educational groups. The conclusion elaborates on the implications of these findings.

I Ain’t Gonna Make It. Comparing Job Demands-Resources and Attrition Intention Between Senior Teachers and Senior Employees of Six Other Occupational Categories in Flanders

Teachers are often thought to retire early and have more stress and burnout than other human service professionals. In this article, we investigate attrition intention amongst senior teachers and senior employees of six other blue- and white-collar occupational categories using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. We followed a two-step approach. First, analysis of variance and logistic regression analysis was used to assess differences in the level of job demands, resources, and attrition intention between occupations for male and female employees separately. Subsequently, multiple group path analysis was used to assess the invariance of the JD-R model across occupational groups and genders. We used representative data gathered in Flanders among 6,810 senior employees (45 years or older). Results indicate that there are differences in the determinants of attrition intention between men and women. The differences in attrition intention are minimal between occupations once controlled for job demands and resources. In addition, the JD-R model is largely invariant across white-collar occupations and gender. We provide support for both the energetic and motivational process of the JD-R model.

Education-based thinking and acting? Towards an identity perspective for studying education differentials in public opinion and political participation

Ever since scholars started studying public opinion and political acting, they have reported substantial educational differences. Much debate remains, however, about how to interpret these differences. Recently a number of scholars using a variety of terms and theoretical reasoning have proposed interpretations that suggest education has become a source of (inter)group processes. Against this background, the objective of this paper is twofold. First, we reflect on this stream of thought, arguing that it provides a starting-point for the development of a new approach for studying educational differentials. This would be centred around the proposition that the central and highly institutionalised nature of education in contemporary societies paves the way for education-based (inter-)group acting and thinking. Starting from this, secondly, we attempt to take stock of existing research, propose a research agenda, and provide data that illustrates a starting-point for the research we propose.